Kantai Collection: The Path to Exile
by Yutakaze
Summary: When the Abyssal threat is neutralized to the point of being little more than pirates, the world turns its attention to ship girls. Seen as "The Greatest weapon the world has ever known." What will the world become when they are sentenced to sink and the worst possible scenario unfolds. "As of now you only have two choices. Either you come with us and live, or you stay and perish!"
1. Setting Sun

Setting Sun

The wind blew steadily upon the Yokosuka naval base, the air salty and the sunlight so bright you would have to cover your eyes to ever be away from the light. It was a beautiful day, it looked like the perfect day. But it could never have been farther from the truth. Today was the day ships that they had known over their years would be sent away to be sunk. Though they had come to terms somewhat with sinking in battle against the abyssal threat, now it seems after all their hard work and tears that they were the threat now.

They were informed at 1500 hours 2 weeks ago that with the abyssal threat neutralized to the point of them being "little more than pirates". That even the worlds modern warships could fight them as equals due to the abyssal numbers being reduced to a staggering 2 percent of their original fighting strength. Upon hearing this the girls of the Yokosuka naval base rose up in cheers until the development continued. Kanmusu, or ship girls as some call them were not only not recognized as the hero's, but had been discussed as "The next future weapon that would shape the world as we know it." Though it may seem true to most, to the Kanmusu of the naval base it turned the entire room silent. Restrictions had been placed upon nations who could make Kanmusu, which only included nations involved in world war 2. Primarily the nations that formed the Axis had more severe restrictions in the amount of Kanmusu they could have. Apparently Kanmusu seemed to only appear for nations in world war 2, and that almost all military weapons were ineffective against them, the most notable being the nuclear bomb.

Did they not fight beside all other nations to secure victory? Did they not work hand in hand with american ship girls, enemies of the past to fight for a new future? They had also wanted to win the war, some knew that they wouldn't make it to the end. Yet their admiral tried hard and shouldered the burden with them to get as many out alive as possible, and now this. The restriction was an abomination to the Kanmusu naval bases and legitimized murder, many of the Kanmusu had believed japan would step up and not give away its past that came back to save it in its time of need. Yet they agreed, and shocking to the girls it seemed to only be because the United States would be giving up more, though their remaining size would still remain a giant to them. All nations with Kanmusu seemed to agree with the decision, as it seemed "Only nations with ship girls could actually wage war properly now". That was beside the fact however that no one in their right mind would want to go to war after the abyssal threat.

 _"Maybe their is more that they are not telling us?"_

Houshou sat along the porch of Mamiya's cafe, gently rubbing the sleeping destroyer whose head was in her lap. The rest of the aircraft carriers, her ship daughters in a sense were inside enjoying a meal. She thought to join them but Yuudachi seemed too cute when she passed out as they talked. Though she couldn't quite understand why even in her sleep she keeps saying "poi".

She inhaled deeply, taking in the salty air as she thought that today seemed like another carefree day. She wished these days could last forever, but the sound of rotor blades approaching in the distance ruined her mood for such a fantasy. The idea of going inside and seeing the other seemed more appealing as her thoughts grew more cold.

 _"How many will they take? How many until they stop?"_

Today was going to be the first set of "sinkings". They had been informed the ones chosen would be flown out to the Marianas trench. What exactly would happen to them was never specified, but one thing was for sure. There would be many less faces around the base, and even less smiling ones. She supposed they thought it was okay, they had re-summoned fallen Kanmusu before. Though it was under the understanding that when they came back, they have no memory of any previous summons. Though seeming like a godsend, it was torture on any admiral or fleet member to know the person whom you have fought beside for many months sinks, just to come back and not remember the moments you shared.

She felt the blonde head in her lap start to stir as she got up rubbing her eyes cutely.

"Poiiiiiii... nmmm nmm nmmm. Oh mama Houshou, I'm sorry I didn't realize i was so tired"

"It's quiet alright Yuudachi-san. You heated my lap quiet well and put my mind at ease."

She smiled the best she could, delighted to see a smile crack across Yuudachi's face as well. The girl was so carefree that it really was a miracle she came across her.

"Yah.. Well that night recon was more trouble than it was worth. Sendai gets so energetic anytime she sees so much as a shadow."

She stretched as Houshou looked out, somewhat missing the warmth on her lap, but was all to willing to trade that for a conversation.

"True, but that is what makes her the best at keeping you girls safe, nothing is gonna sneak up on you as long as Sendai continues to be nocturnal."

Yuudachi stretched her arm above her head, letting out a cute poi as she warmed her body up.

"But i'm not, Shigure and I can hardly hang out now with me sleeping all day"

"Perhaps you should sleep in Shigure's lap then?"

Yuudachi stuttered as her face grew red from embarrassment, her hand automatically going to her mouth.

"But but... Houshou-san.."

"Come on. Is it really so wrong? Your just sisters"

"Poi..."

The sound of the rotor blades growing silent towards the landing pads did not sooth her nerves as she gave Yuudachi a motherly smile.

"I'm going to go grab a bit to eat. Would you like to join me Yuudachi?"

Yuudachi's face seemed to contort, her ears also angled to hear the helicopter in the distance. Her smile turning into a frown as she turned back to her, giving a smile so forced it seemed to hurt.

"No thank you. Um, i'm going to go and find Nee-san okay? Maybe we both will come by to eat if you are here."

She nodded as Yuudachi turned and ran off, the midday light gleaming off the white stone walkway as she departed. The sun seemed to be lowering as Houshou turned around and headed inside the cafe, hoping no one else came.

* * *

The smell of grilling meat and steaming miso soup wafted into her nose as she inhaled deeply taking it all in. Mamiya really was a high class chef in her own right, her food was not only delicious but she was able to feed the entire base which was in no ways small. She scanned the room, immediately seeing Mamiya on the hibachi grill frying up a pile of rice and meat. Her precious girls, Akagi, Kaga, Souryuu, Hiryuu were all eating at the large table centered just off to the side. Of course Akagi was eating a plate three times the size of any of the others plates. But it still made her smile at how life went on in its own funny way.

Across the room she could see two other light carriers like herself. Junyou and Ryuujou talking about how their practice went. She could tell what it was about as the clearly intoxicated Junyou was almost yelling it out for the entire cafe to hear but no one seemed to mind. No one else seemed to be around, perhaps it was the same reason as her. Maybe they were all just spending what little time they have left with sisters and friends.

She gracefully approached the counter and sat down, her body turning to look at the girls eat and laugh. It seemed like they hadn't a worry in the world which eased her soul as she heard the thunk of a bowl being placed in front of her. She turned eyeing Mamiya skeptically as she looked at the bowl.

"I hadn't ordered anything though Mamiya-san"

"Its on the house. Consider it my treat, I know you will enjoy it"

Looking back down as a second smaller bowl was placed in front of her she barely realized her stomach growled just loud enough for Mamiya-san to hear. The meal looked tempting beyond belief, a pile of cooked rice with meat and vegetables placed atop of it and a small bowl of ice cream with what she could tell to be chocolate and banana slices on it.

"You sure know how to make a girl fall in love"

She did a short bow to Mamiya in thanks as she grabbed the bowl and began to grab a scoop

"Careful it's hot"

A quick blow on it did confirm that the meat was indeed hot off the grill as she placed it back into the bowl and took another glance at the table of four aircraft carriers. She must of done that for quiet awhile as she felt a nudge on her elbow and looked over seeing Mamiya washing some plates.

"Why don't you go join them?"

She looked back quickly and smiled, their was definitely enough room for her and she knew she would be welcomed. As she grabbed the two bowls however she heard the doors to the cafe open wide with the sounds of boots hitting the floor. Mamiya's hands stopped moving and she cursed herself for not acting quick enough as she turned around seeing two soldiers in uniform and an officer from the Navy.

The officer seemed to look around for a bit, with every eye turning to him in response as she took quick note of what was happening. The officer seemed to have short black hair with what she could tell from the cap he wore as per uniform and the officers garb he wore. The soldiers however seemed ready for confrontation as they wielded very large high caliber rifles with drum clips. She didn't know the name of it offhand but it was clearly only used to pierce heavy armor, or a Kanmusu in this case. While normal bullets would ripe their clothing it would bounce off their skin as if it really was steel. Even with those high caliber weapons she doubted they could kill a Kanmusu, but it would hurt and she doubted it would be practical to carry around rocket launchers.

The officer seemed to look at everyone for a moment before walking towards the middle of the room, the soldiers standing by the door. The officer bowed respectfully to Mamiya as she raised an eyebrow at the display.

"I'm very sorry for ruining this beautiful cafe with the sight of weapons, but orders are orders."

He stood up to his full height, ending at around six feet tall as Houshou gulped. The officer seemed to notice her discomfort and tried his best at a friendly attitude.

"Don't worry, we are not here for you Houshou-san, you may relax"

At this he turned right, looking at the two light carriers whom noticed his presence but seemed to be having a better time finishing their meal.

"Light Aircraft Carrier Junyou. It is my unfortunate duty to inform you that you have been chosen to be sunk as per Japans cooperation with the Leman Treaty."

"But why? What has she done wrong"

Houshou immediately spoke up as Junyou drank to her hearts content of her sake, the proclamation didn't seem to bother here.

"Ahhhhhhhhh. Well it was fun."

She said with a sad smile on her face as the officer turned to Houshou.

"Im sorry, the reason's as far as I am aware is lack of self control when drinking and disregard for base time restraints."

"But she is strong! She keeps all the girls spirits up even if she is a bit of a sleeping in that doesn't mean-"

"Relax Mama Houshou, I know its scary but I'm okay with this."

Houshou stuttered as Junyou spoke and stood up, grabbing her bowl and quickly consuming the contents. However Houshou still wouldn't have it.

"Please, if your required to take someone then please take me."

"Houshou don't!"

"Houshou-san!"

Her girls said as the officer looked her straight in the eyes, Junyou looking at her with somewhat of a apologetic face.

"I know it must be hard on you Houshou-san but I'm okay with-"

"I'm not... Please... just... just take me instead"

Akagi stood from her seat, quickly traveling the room to grab Hoshou by the sleeve with her face in wonderment.

"Houshou-san why? Junyou's..."

"Not another word Akagi. Iv'e made my decision"

The officer continued to look at her, his gaze testing her resolve as the room grew quiet. Even Junyou was quiet in this intense decision and she was still intoxicated. Her gaze settled on the officer, her mind trying to steel itself for what she was trying to do.

"Please... I can't just sit at dock and worry my girls wont come home... Let me do this..."

The room held an still silence at those words. Houshou held her breath, resisting resorting to tears. It seemed to last for only a minute however as the officer nodded at her proposal.

"Very well. We will take you instead."

She sighed a deep breath of relief upon hearing that which was quite baffling. She was just sentenced to death? No, she just saved one of her friends. She glanced at Junyou who held a troubled look. Houshou's mind wandered briefly before upon reflex, jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Looking quickly she barely realized it was the officer.

"My apologies for all this. Your a very brave woman, and I'm sorry this is being done to you"

"Houshou-san... I'm... I'm sorry i wasn't the best carrier you raised... I was originally just a passenger liner, not an aircraft carrier... If it wasn't for me..."

"Its fine Junyou. Just keep being you and.. take care of my girls"

Junyou seemed stunned at the proclamation before nodding, letting loose a sad smile as she turned to the officer.

"Please, lead the way."

* * *

The blew with a firm desire as she approached the helicopter. Flanked by the two soldiers the ramp slowly lowered in the back, revealing two other Kanmusu and a soldier. It seems she was not the first on the list as Murakumo and Maruyu both looked at her baffled.

"Even Houshou-san?! What the hell are you guys trying to pull!"

Murakumo yelled, the soldiers in response gripping their weapons tighter. She was sitting down, being strapped to a seat inside the helicopters with chains to keep her from getting up. Those would help, but only for a few seconds. A ship girls might was not to be underestimated and they knew it as Houshou sat down without a word next to Mamiya with Murakumo across from her.

"It's okay Murokumo-san. I asked that they take me"

"Asked?! But..."

Her sentenced never finished as Maruyu spoke up with her tiny voice.

"What's going to happen to us Houshou-san?"

They both paused at those words, the officer taking this brief moment to leave before things got any more awkward for him. Houshou was chained down to her seat, the chain thick but not unbreakable to her. However she still reached over and patted Maruyu's head beside her as she gave her best winning smile.

"We are just gonna go to sleep. We'll be back, and then we can all hang out just like we always have"

Maruyu sniffled, holding in sobs as she glanced at Murakumo with her arms crossed. She was hard headed and may seem displeasing but she knew she always spoke her mind at any opportunity and she was having none of this. Murakumo looked down at the ground in thought, processing the feeling of all this. It must be hard on her, she still acted so young but it was not to say she was unskilled.

"I... I was chosen since -sniffle- I'm useless in a fight and could only ever go on expeditions..."

Maruyu spoke out as she leaned her head into Houshou's chest, hot tears staining her shirt and she held the young girl close. Though harsh Maruyu was too fragile and wouldn't hurt a fly. She wanted to help her friends, but could only ever do it with supplies.

"I was chosen since, apparently I have a problem with authority. Baka admirals..."

Murakumo spat out as she kept looking down, but she could tell from her eyes she was quite depressed at the announcement. She was indeed pretty harsh on the admiral when she first arrived, but it didn't mean she had a problem with authority. Merely... she didn't understand the importance of orders.

Though that statement got her thinking. What does the admiral think of all of this? He had been gone for over a week after the negotiations, apparently lobbying with other admirals to recede the treaty to no luck. As soon as he was back he was drowned in paperwork, he couldn't even see his girls. How painful it must be for him to know despite his best efforts he's going to lose some of his ship girls today.

Houshou gently held Maruyu in her arms as they waited, the soldier sitting respectfully on the other end of the back room of the helicopter. Marukumo seemed to have quieted down somewhat after many baka's, however she had never seen her more depressed before.

After several minutes the ramp began to lower again as the light of day began to peek through. Everyone looked, seeing the Heavy Cruiser Suzuya being lead inside with a perplexed look on her face. Behind she could see the admiral in full uniform watching, a frown on his face. She knew he was resisting tears as Suzuya spoke out in disbelief.

""This is a joke, right admiral? Haha you got me... uh..."

"I'm very sorry for this. can you please sit down?"

The officer said calmly pointing to the seat next to Murakumo. Suzuya seemed to quiver at the thought before very slowly easing down onto the chair and allowing the chain to wrap around her waist.

"Admiral!" Suzuya screamed out as he watched about fifteen yards from the ramp. "You'll bring us back right? This won't be the end right?"

"Suzuya I am-"

The ramp suddenly started to raise with all but the admiral inside, the sound of the blades rotating drowning out his words.

"Admiral!" Suzuya yelled out as the door closed and the soldiers proceeded to seat themselves.

Suzuya was quiet as the blades began to pick up speed, a small tear on her cheek. Murakumo lightly rubbed her shoulders getting her attention.

"Hey, it'll be okay. He needs us way more than he is willing to admit"

Rubbing the tear away Suzuya let out a hearty laugh with a smile.

"Since when did you become so mature Murakumo-san?"

"Baka!"

She spouted as she turned her head away, a blush adorning her cheeks as Houshou tried her best to focus upon the silliness. She felt a shift in weight and she knew they had just lifted off into the sky.

Her only regret was she was unable to say goodbye.

* * *

The air was warm and salty as it flowed across her skin. The sunlight was fading over the horizon and with it so would those girls. How disturbing that the hero's of the ocean would become the monsters. But she supposed that is something destined to happen given time. The only true monster were those in your heart.

Her eyes carefully opened, seeing the setting sun as her planes began to make their approach. Her eyes a clear blue with black hair as dark as the night. An aura of confidence as she looked up to the orange sky.

 _"Help me save them... That was his request. This was the point of no return"_

"Everyone. Begin operation"

* * *

Houshou quietly looked at the girls as they rested. There were no words during the flight as Maruyu slept leaning on her shoulder, giving her ample room to rest her head on that of the young submarine. Suzuya seemed to also be the same, her head resting on that of the destroyer Murakumo who quietly allowed it to happen. Perhaps she was rethinking her attitude because of this.

The sky outside the small window was a blazing orange and the sun seemed to be setting. The ride should not last that much longer as she began to get comfortable again with her thoughts on those back home.

 _"I wonder just how long this will last. Its only a temporary fix for them if any. I suppose i can only hope for the best in any case."_

She closed her eyes, her mind drifting as a bump disturbed her efforts as well as waking Maruyu.

"Are we there yet?"

Maruyu asked as Houshou felt another bump, and then another.

 _"Wait. Whats causing bumps in a helicopter?"_

The answer soon revealed itself as the screeching of metal reached her ears and bullets filled the cabin in mass. Everyone woke up in shock as the rounds easily pierced the hull of the plane and began to hit its occupants. Houshou felt stinging all over as the bullets bounced and the aircraft tilted, pulling upon everyone with G forced due to the sharpness of the turn.

Blood splattered the wall as a soldier was riddled before fire began to take form from the cockpit. The turning did not stop as Houshou realized they were going to crash. The officer whom was with them tried with all his might and was barely able to press a button along the wall, allowing the ramp to open as they spun out. The bullets seemed to have stopped for the moment as the force threatened to rip her from her seat. The light of the setting sun appeared and disappeared with haste as the helicopter spun, the setting sun visible in brief moments from the opening bay door.

The sound of screaming could not reach her ears as their altitude lowered with the sun fading and fading until they reached the water and all was black.

* * *

She was tired, hurt and tired as she was being pulled. Houshou briefly opened her eyes and realized the helicopter was already halfway in the water. She looked up, seeing Suzuya with her head barely above the water pulling on her chain that bonded her to the wall. She would drown if she did not hurry. Acting without thinking Houshou quickly began to pull as well, rewarding her with a satisfying groaning of metal until the latch snapped and freed her.

Though she was free now it was not the time to be happy. Ducking her head into the water she began to pull with all her might on Maruyu's chain, she knew in her heart the girl did not have the strength to break it herself. Suzuya was not helping her this time, she could only think she was busy rescuing Murakumo. She pulled and eventually after much strain heard the groan again before the latch popped and the young submarine quickly swam out the open bay door.

Surfacing for air quickly, Houshou knew the helicopter would be underwater in mere moments as she held her breath again and dived down. She went deeper inside the aircraft to find the soldiers, they seemed to not move and Houshou could only guess they died from the impact. Bubbles quickly began to rise as an air pocket busted sending her up and hitting her head against the ceiling. She was dazed for a moment as a hand on the back of her shirt pulled her up to the surface with haste and she coughed, the sea water salty and her body aching from the event.

The sound of wheezing greeted her ears as she slowly rose above the water, using her natural abilities as a Kanmusu to float. Though she did not have any of her rigging and as such was limited to walking on water for the moment. She looked and saw everyone else floating coughing up the water as they gained their breath. The night sky becoming purple to the setting sun that was past the horizon.

Slowly lifting herself up she saw legs standing, and continuing to look up as she saw her it was indeed another Kanmusu. Her white blouse with a blue handkerchief around her neck, rigging adorning her back in medium caliber guns. A cruiser if she had ever seen one with sandy blonde hair tied into a hastily made ponytail. Freckles adorned her cheeks as the girl looked at the group in worry. An anchor sat at her hip with her white shoes having rudders on the heels. The sleeves of her shirt were short and her skirt ended right before her knees and was a light blue. she held onto a 8"/55 cannon in her right hand but the sight of several guns on her rigging made it clear she was not helpless.

"Are you girls okay?"

She spoke in Japanese, but to anyone the act was not easy. Even Houshou could tell it was not this girls natural language. The rest began to rise, with Murakumo groaning as the stretched her back.

"Fine. Not like I fell from the sky or anything"

"Funny. But look we have to go or else-"

"Wait Indie"

Another voice cut in as another Kanmusu slowed to a stop beside the girl. Her hair was as black as the night with eyes that seemed to reflect the deepest ocean. A dark blue navy uniform was hidden underneath a grey mantle she wore. A grey beret sat atop her head with an anchor emblem and a bandolier was wrapped around her chest. On it however Houshou could make out tiny planes that rested there instead of bullets, ready to be launched. In her right hand she held onto what looked to be an miniaturized aircraft carrier. Though upon further inspection it seemed to be a "gun" in a sense with the back end of the ship forming into the butt of a rifle. She wore a dark blue skirt that reached her knees that matched her uniform and two black boots with propellers attached completed the image.

"We aren't here to steal them away"

The girl said in perfect English that Houshou understood. Her first thought was american ships but it made little sense to her. This entire meeting was roiled in affairs of some sort.

"What are you here for? Were you the one who shot us down?"

Houshou said as the others got up, their entire attention being placed on the two foreign ship girls.

"Regretfully yes" The carrier said as she looked Houshou dead in the eyes."However our admiral has made it clear he wants to give you a choice in this matter. This is a rescue, not a recruitment. What you do from this point on is your choice."

"Why would the American Navy want to save us?"

"We aren't with the navy"

The cruiser jumped in and her words baffled the group. Not with the navy? The implications seemed to rise and rise but she was no closer to a clear understanding.

"What do you mean? Who is your admiral?"

"That isn't the point of this." The carrier interrupted, her eyes scanning the skies. "Our admiral doesn't want you to die needlessly after all that you have done for not only your nation but for everyone. As of now you only have two choices. Either you come with us and live, or you stay and perish."

"Wha!" Maruyu squealed as the groups entire attention was upon the two girls.

"We have given you an opportunity to escape. But you can also stay and be returned. However, that will not stop the treaty or the sinkings. The only solace in it is being able to see your friends again for a month at most until this happens again."

"So what? We are supposed to run and hide?" Murakumo said with fire on her tongue. The carrier looked at her, her blue gaze as hard as the steel of the ship she embodied.

"Stay and die. Or run and live. Those are the only options you have at the moment"

Murakumo grunted at those words, even being hardheaded she knew the options did not look good at all. But it could be worse, they could have been sunk or captured by abyssals.

"If you want to run. We can carry you to our base, then you can make your future decisions there. The admiral was very clear in that we will not force you to do anything"

Houshou gazed at her, trying to get any amount of information she could from her face. Alas the girl was a true fighter, she held an aura of authority but also serenity. It reminded her of Akagi but she was different. This girl was much more persistent in what she believed in.

She could hear the bubbles rise as the aircraft continued to sink, its tail was the only thing out of the water still as Houshou nodded making her choice.

"Ill come. If only to see what this is all about. I wont say I trust you fully but I understand your intentions are not evil"

The foreign carrier nodded with a hint of a smile, the first sign of emotion she has seen from the girl as the other chirped in.

"Um... Id also like to go..." Maruyu said as she wiggled slightly looking down.

"Well guess that settles it. I'm in!" Suzuya said with confidence as she stepped forward.

Murakumo looked at the group before looking down and to the side while her hands wrapped around her small chest.

"I guess i'll come too..."

"That's a full party. Haza!"

The foreign cruiser yelled out with her hand rising into the air. The act earned a giggle from Houshou as Murakumo looked back and forth between the two.

"So are we just walking? I don't think you two can carry all of us?"

Unknown to the destroyer a creature rose from the depths behind her, its aim true and ravenous.

"RAWR!"

Maruyu screamed as she dived behind Houshou. Murakumo jumped as well, instinctively hiding behind the heavier built Suzuya. Houshou looked back stunned that such a little thing made such a big fuss.

A girl, a submarine from what she could tell surfaced and looked at the group with eyes of a hawk, trying to gather all the information she could like a good recon vessel. Her hair was short and silver, stopping just below her ear with a dark blue handkerchief wrapped atop her head. She was small, like most submarines and seemed to have on a one piece dark blue swimsuit that matched the handkerchief. The girl had big light green eyes but what was most interesting was what she was holding. A miniature submarine was held in her hand, it was roughly the size of her torso and seemed to be her main way of propelling herself around. Two sets of four torpedoes decorated her thighs similar to some destroyers. The girl was quiet after her arrival while Maruyu sneaked a peak at the "beast".

"Why you little submerging piece of-"

Murakumo however was livid from the fright as the submarine quickly responded with.

"Bombardment incoming. Dive dive!"

The girl sank below the water extremely quickly as Murakumo jumped for her but missed, grabbing nothing but water. The foreign carrier messages the bridge of her nose as the cruiser laughed heartily at the ordeal.

"Harder get back up here. We need you to carry someone"

After a few seconds the submarine Harder from what she could call rose up before the foreign carrier. Murakumo shifted to get her before being yanked up by her collar by a smiling Suzuya.

"Now now, why is a cute destroyer afraid of a sub?"

Murakumo growled as Harder looked up at the carrier. The lower half of her body still in the water.

"Can you bring Maruyu back to the rendezvous with you? She is a submarine so she can breath in water"

The submarine nodded a yes before turning to Maruyu and patting her Miniaturized submarine.

"Go ahead and grab on Maruyu-san"

She said in perfect Japanese. Maruyu waited a second before nodding and grabbing on. Harder wasted no time and dove deep underwater and out of sight along with the other submarine. The carrier moved over to Houshou who now didn't have anyone beside her and turned around.

"Sorry but i have to hold my deck, Ill have to piggyback you to the rendezvous"

"Piggyback?"

She had never heard the term put quite like that before but relented and grabbed on while the foreign carrier was making sure she was out of the water. The cruiser moved over to Murakumo and Suzuya with a cheerful enough expression as she turned around while Suzuya still held Murakumo up by the back of her shirt.

"Here, go ahead and just sit on the rigging, just hope i don't have to shoot"

Murakumo looked at her with confusion, the arrays that floated above her head turning orange in confusion.

"You honestly think-"

She couldn't finish that sentence as Suzuya plopped her onto the rigging with a thunk. The cruiser noticeable shifted uncomfortably from the added weight but none the less turned around and quickly picked up Suzuya bridal style. Suzuya released a cute squeal as the cruiser laughed and they headed off.

"Sorry I'm not exactly prince charming but hey, least your cute"

"Thank you, but I already have a prince charming" Suzuya replied as the girl grinned from the comment.

"Really? Me too. Maybe later we can compare"

Murakumo shifted carefully as the cruiser speed away, her sight on the carrier that carried Houshou following right behind them. She looked around for better things to grab before letting go of the side of the rig and noticed a very dangerous symbol on it.

"What in the world! Why is there a radiation symbol here?"

"Oh that?" The girl said without a second thought. "Its nothing, just don't hit it unless you want to wipe out everything for 10 miles."

Murakumos face turned pale upon that revelation and didn't budge a single inch as the group headed towards land.

* * *

Never in her life has she attempted to travel so fast. Yuudachi sped along the waters in quick response to a distress signal from the transport helicopter, the one that Houshou-san and the others were on. Crazy night gale Sendai was equally fierce in the response time. Her two sisters were with them as well as Samidare and Mutsuki and they all felt the pressure of getting to them before the abyssals could do anything to them.

"This is torpedo squad three approaching the encounter zone. No signs of any abyssals."

"Roger Torpedo three. Torpedo one was attacked by unknown abyssal forces 20 kilometers from your current location and were forced to retreat. Be advised"

"Roger. Torpedo three out"

The air seemed saltier than normal as the fleet approached the last known whereabouts of the helicopter. Everyone was serious about this and they had a reason to be. They had grown lax when the abyssal threat had been deemed finished but it seemed that was not the case. They had very large scouting zones and they hardly saw any abyssals now. However that only further fueled the fact they unintentionally allowed them in to attack their friends. Something they wouldn't let happen again.

"Did we make it in time?"

Mutsuki asked as Sendai looked around.

"We are here"

She stopped with the entire fleet following suit as she brought out a cylinder. With a loud pop something shot out of it before a star shell began to illuminate the surrounding area in its light.

"I have nothing on sonar, radar or surface radar"

Samidare said as everyone looked around, not even seeing the helicopter even though most likely it sunk. Her greatest concern however was how something like this could happen anyway.

"We will keep searching until the carriers can take over at dawn. Just... Please be safe"

* * *

The air was light and cool as the moon quietly filled the sky. Its light barely anything, but it served to be better than the pitch blackness. The fleet started to slow down as they approached the beach before stopping, Murakumo stepping off quickly with her feet hitting the shallow water and Suzuya being let down. Harder surfaced along with Maruyu and Houshou was not far behind as everyone quickly followed their lead and walked up the beach.

The approach had to be quiet so they wanted to make as little noise possible. A response force likely would have reached where they crashed by now so they had to move fast. They quietly walked through the empty beach until they reached a parking lot. Not a soul was in sight to notice the seven girls, three of which were armed. The foreign cruiser seemed to still have boundless energy though as she ran across the lot to a charter bus that was parked there. Houshou looked back at the carrier who followed her along with everyone else, this entire scenario still baffled her and she wanted answers.

The door was unlocked with ease as the cruiser went inside as she quickly took off her heavy rigging and set it on one of the dozens of unoccupied seats.

"All aboard!"

She yelled as they came aboard one after another. The foreign cruiser seemed to be driving but everyone had freedom to sit where they pleased. Murakumo and Suzuya sat in the front most rows with the two submarines sitting right behind them. Houshou decided to sit behind the submarines and she expected the other carrier to join her but she walked straight past her into the back.

Before she could say a word the bus door closed and it was off. The submarines seemed to be becoming good friends, they were talking about the girls submarine she held as well as what kind of submarines they were. Harder seemed particularly surprised that Haruyu wasn't even a combat vessel. The two cruisers and destroyer talked, the driver somehow being the most awake.

"So whats your names? Like full names?"

Suzuya finally asked as they were driving down the dark roads.

"Finally bothered to ask huh?" The cruiser said looking back into the mirror briefly at her. "CA-35, USS Indianapolis at your service. Just call me Indie though, we have all kinds of nicknames for each other at the moment."

Suzuya didn't seem too surprised at the words as she leaned against the seat right behind her.

"Should've guessed Americans. For girls you have balls for pulling this stunt"

"I'm SS-257, USS Harder."

Maruyu seemed happy at those words as she inspected the little sub.

"That's good, I hear you were very skilled in the war."

"Mhm. Sunk myself a few destroyers even. Nothing gets past me"

Harder said making a fist while Murakumo rolled her eyes.

"And you?"

Houshou asked to the rear most occupant. She had been staring at the back window the entire time with her deck in her hand. It seemed like she was preparing for an immanent attack. Her eyes looked over at Houshou before noticing the others looking as well, each also wishing to hear her response. The carrier didn't speak for some time until it grew too quiet and she relented.

"Hero. Just call me Hero, everyone else does."

The girl looked back towards the window as Indie looked at the passengers with a frown.

"Don't mind here. She doesn't like her name. She only really came back to save you guys."

"Did she?"

Houshou said to herself as she looked back at the girl. It was obvious she was a american carrier but which one. One immediately came to mind but she threw it out of her mind, Enterprise was a secretary ship back in Hawaii.

* * *

The night grew colder as they began to see lights everywhere. It seemed during their talk and exchanges they had come to a city. The sky was dark but the lights served as sight as they traveled down a highway with people driving here and there.

"Where are we?"

Maruyu asked as they continued down the highway at night.

"Tokyo"

Indie said as she began to get off the highway and onto normal roads.

"Tokyo? Aren't you just taking us back to what we are running away from?"

Murokumo glanced about with intrigue and worry. She hadn't visited inside the city too much, even at night it was busy with life and had quite an air about it.

"As a submarine. You must learn to hide under what is everywhere"

Indie let out a hearty chuckle at Harder's words for life as Houshou looked back at Hero-san. It felt wrong to call her by something other than her true name but it was her choice. Perhaps in time she would learn just which carrier she was. She had thought maybe it was simply the pressure of being american around Japanese but Hero didn't seem like the kind of person to hold back for such a reason.

The group began to quiet down as they apparently neared their destination. Hero's eyes gleamed with concern as a police car with its lights on past them by, but it seems they were after other fish. A few minutes later then began to see the ocean before the arrived at a dockyard. Indie parked the bus just off to the side as she stood up. There was only one ship in dock currently and no dock hands on the ground.

"All aboard!"

She said as she grabbed her rigging and led everyone out. The ship was massive but it definitely wasn't military. It seemed like it was a transport, Its black and red hull dwarfed a destroyer, being only on par of sheer size to that of a aircraft carrier. A ramp was already lowered on the side so passengers could board but no soul could be seen.

As everyone stared up at the massive ship the three american ships waited little in walking up the ramp. Even Hero-san with all her seriousness seemed to be going quickly. She supposed it was natural, Houshou recalled many times where girls who came back from an expedition would run to the admirals office. As they followed suit she read the name of the ship, its name a foggy memory that puzzled her.

"Kuro End"

 _"Where have I heard that name before?"_

"Admiral!"

Indie screamed out to the world as she got onto the deck of the ship. The others followed suit seeing a few female crew members looking at them curiously. It seemed the ship was not without its people after all. However the fact that she only saw female members was curious. Houshou was about to speak before another voice broke the night.

"Indie!"

A little girl, perhaps barely twelve years old ran up to indie and was enveloped in a hug as she spun.

"Oh hello Lily I'm back. Mission successful!" She said raising her thumb as the girl did so in a similar fashion.

The little girl stood a hair shorter than Maruyu with black hair that was tied into twin tails. A white face with obvious European or american lineage and a peach dress that completed the look.

The girl turned towards the newest girls and gave each of them a hearty smile.

"I'm Lily, big bros sis. I hope we can all get along"

She spoke in a sweet voice and perfect Japanese. It was kind of them to be considerate of their preferred language but it honestly didn't matter. They all spoke English perfectly fine due to the war. Each of them began to address themselves to the girl one after another. Upon getting each of their ship types Lily began to speak.

"Ohhhhh your all really strong. Big bro says if I want to be an admiral I better start with a destroyer and work my way up. So it'll be a pleasure working with you Murokumo!"

"Hey, wait a minute i never agreed-"

"Admiral!"

Each of the American ship girls interrupted her in a instant salute. Hero and Harder seemed to keep a straight face but Indie was smiling somewhat as a man approached the group of girls.

He was tall, standing up at around 6'5 with short black hair and deep green eyes. A healthy shave accented his square chin and white skin. He was dressed casually but with taste of a white button up shirt and black pants. A build of someone who loves the water and swims often. He walked with a pace that was with purpose and had a face showing relief upon seeing them.

"I'm glad you made it back. I was getting a bit worried when the others arrived before you"

He smiled with relief as the ships stopped saluting, each of them giving their own "I'm back" smiles.

"Nah you got the best team this planet can handle!"

Indie spoke with enthusiasm as the man turned towards the girls. Indie of course glances at Suzuya and catching her stare and grinned.

"Want to compare now?"

She blushed as he approached, instead looking off to the side trying to avoid eye contact.

"He sure can capture a girls heart..."

"I'm glad your all safe. Did any..."

He spoke, slowing his sentence down as he picked his words.

"No one followed us and this is all the Kanmusu that were on board."

Hero spoke up as he sighed with relief. He smiled at her in response which she kept a straight face. But the girls could hear an audible "Hmpm" and the tint of her cheeks grow more pink.

"Thanks Hero. I knew I could count on you."

"Sir!"

He looked back at the girls before rubbing the back of his head and looking at Indie.

"My name is Aden Yukata and I hope we can all get along. Can I trust you to get them decent sleeping quarters?"

"Don't worry just leave it to me!" Indie said with enthusiasm as she began to grab two of the girls and lead them off. The submarines followed in tow as Lily followed the bunch as well. It was early in the morning, most likely she was tired after staying up late waiting on them.

"And not in my room!"

"DRAT!"

"Its nice to meet you Aden!"

Suzuya said as the group departed into the massive transport ship. Houshou bowed respectfully to him when he turned back to her.

"Its quite fin Houshou-san. I'm just trying to help. But I'm sure you must be tired after everything"

"I am... But can you tell me one thing?"

The man looked at her with his full attention while the others left except for Hero.

"Sure, anything"

"Where have we met before?"

* * *

 **AN:**

 **So that is the end of the first chapter. With all the free time I have I will most likely get a decent chunk of this story done, but I have big plans so it might take awhile. I have made a different story(not kantai collection) under a different name(getting to abut 190,000 words and a superb amount of reviews and likes.) However I seem to fall short when it comes to grammar so I'm hoping to clear that up. I wont say it will be perfect but helpful criticism is welcome. If you have any questions that I may be willing to answer go ahead and review or pm me as its always helpful to hear others ideas and thoughts.**

 **As far as the american ship girls, if their personality isn't clear i will clear it up now.**

 **CA-35 Indianapolis (aka Indie)**

 **Stands at about 5'6 with sandy blonde hair in a ponytail that ends slightly below her neck. Freckles adorn her face and she wears a white blouse with a blue Handkerchief around her neck and a skirt ending right before her knees that was light blue. White shoes on her feet and an anchor wrapped around her waist as a sort of belt. She has light blue eyes and is only really skilled in English, somewhat suffering when it comes to other languages.**

 **Her rigging hangs on her lower back and is a white silver color with two triple barreled 8"/55 cannons(one on each side of her) and she is holding another 8"/55 cannon(8 inch, 55 caliber cannon). She has many small AA guns featured around points on her rig as well as a plane catapult on her right side just behind the turret. A radiation symbol can be seen on a canister on her left side right behind the turret. She was not nuclear powered but did carry pieces of the first atomic bomb. This was developed onto her character as a ship girl though and gives her bountiful energy. She is always trying to get a rise out of people but isn't actually a pervert, more a flirt. While powerful with many medals from the war she is a klutz at times and her luck sucks hard. She often wants the attention of her admiral as she has had many and wants one to actually pick and stay with her, making her very clingy in a sense. She fears being alone, having been sunk at sea with no one noticing for over 3 days. She was the single most highest lose of life from a single american ship in world war 2 history.**

 **SS-257 USS Harder**

 **Stands around 4 feet tall with short silver hair wrapped in a blue dew rag. White face, light green eyes and childish appearance like must submarines she wears a blue swim uniform similar to other submarines and has SS-257 on the front of it. Two sets of quad torpedo armaments lay on one thigh each similar to most destroyers and she holds a small submarine of herself that acts as the propulsion device modern divers use.**

 **She is playful but often gets into trouble as she seems to have no fear of bigger things or things renowned as submarine hunters. During the war she sunk dozens of transports and sunk three destroyers with another one being damaged but not confirmed sunk. Her attitude during combat is that of "Hit first, Hit them Harder" as she normally is the first to fire, even onto destroyers as they close in on her. She turns war into a game of "Tag" or "Hide and Seek". Extremely brave in the face or adversity she keeps about a straight face despite her playful demeanor.**

 **And then there is Hero**

 **Standing at about 5'8 with dark black hair that flows down straight ending right at her hip(similar to Akagi but longer). White face with eyes so blue its like a reflection of the ocean and an attitude of someone who wants to get the job done right. Brave and prideful she does not want others to know her true name for reasons not disclosed yet. But her protectiveness of lives is absolute, making many promises to her friends of making it back alive. Even though in reality she knows inside she's just a liar then. She is quite and strict and believes true hero's to be the ones who died for what they believed in. She knows she is skilled but is not arrogant, saying that luck if anything led to her success. She prefers to never be seen in a fight, taking on a more "snipers" point of view.**

 **She wears a dark, nearly black navy button up officer uniform with a medal of honor resting right below her collar. She wears a matching skirt that ends right at her knees and black combat boots. A grey mantle with many holes in it rests on her shoulders and covers her arms and back ending right above her hip. A bandolier with small planes instead of bullets is wrapped around her chest from her left shoulder to her right hip with a small anchor resting on her right hip. She carries her deck which acts as her rifle in a sense over that of a bow. The deck is longer and less wide than her realistic counterpart when it comes to proportions and antennae on the bridge of her deck act as sights for her. The deck starts to deviate towards the back as it becomes the wooden butt of a rifle with a trigger where the rudder would be. A grey beret with an anchor emblem on it finishes the look to this aircraft carrier of unknown identity.**


	2. Allies of Necessity

Allies of Necessity

"You're our naval base's supplier?"

To say Houshou was surprised would be an understatement. She had expected Aden to have been a former admiral or perhaps a rogue officer. It was very hard to believe this man somehow formed a fleet of his own and orchestrated this entire rescue without any form of naval training. The man had an aura of confidence yes, but he didn't seem to have much authority from what she could tell so how did he do it? She was tired but she was still awake enough to realize there was more to this story than meets the eye.

"Keeping up with supply drops for about a dozen Kanmusu bases and doing expeditions of our own. Back at the start before they started sending destroyers to go fetch salvage from sunken ships, those destroyers were escorting us while we did that."

She must admit, it did make sense and now that she thought about it that might have been why he was so familiar to her. She had been around since the beginning, she never really got a chance to sink due to her girls being so much stronger and how everyone was so protective of her. She did remember how often times some destroyers and carriers were sent out with these massive ships as they either transported materials to bases or mined the materials themselves whenever the shipping lanes were infested with abyssals. Never once has she know them to fail their quota and that just proves dedication to her.

"So you are still looking out for us. Well... after everything you've done I believe you've earned more than my thanks. And I apologize for not recognizing you sooner."

"Its alright Houshou-san, I barley get to see you girls ever since you could do your own expeditions. But me and my crew know how hard you work to help us out. Every crew member here is in on it, it was actually through a lot of push and pull that I even got the courage to do this"

"That reminds me, why is your crew... uh..."

"Only female? Well back at the start when we had Kanmusu escorts 24/7 the brass didn't want a sailor getting handsy. So we made a deal that if I replace all the crew members with girls that id get a permanent contract. My father owned the transport business before and I lost a lot of good people when I had to switch out so much of the staff with girls who weren't as trained. But after seeing the ship girls in action they wanted to help as best they could and the rest just went from there. I can give you the full rundown tomorrow if you like."

"Yes that would help. I'm sorry but I think I will join the others for a much needed rest.."

"That's fine. Hero-san can help bunk you with the others. Is that okay Hero?"

Hero glanced at him, it seems she was lost in her own little world though by her face it didn't seem like it was the most pleasant one.

"Yes admiral. But we need to make future plans soon. Now that we have done this once it'll make future rescues that much harder"

"We can think about it when we can actually think straight. Go ahead and get some rest"

"By your orders admiral"

Hero said with a salute, though the way her eyes were drifting was proof she wanted to follow those orders as soon as possible.

"Heh admiral... Not quite sure what you girl's fascination with that word is"

Houshou looked at him perplexed at that statement. It was obvious to her but perhaps he really is just that new to this entire thing.

"You lead them and are their main emotional support and friend. That's just what an admiral is to a ship"

He rested his hand under his chin as he thought about those words. He whispered something but she couldn't quite hear what was said, though the chilly wind was getting to her.

"Thanks Houshou."

"Eh?"

She really didn't do much but he seemed honest and sincere with those words. It somewhat reminded her whenever she was first summoned with an admiral who was new to ship girls as well. She was seen as a motherly figure but it seemed sometimes she speaks wise words without realizing it.

"Don't worry about it Houshou-san. I'm sure you'll understand soon enough."

Hero said as she started walking away into the ship. Houshou waved one last goodbye to Aden Yukata, or maybe a better word is the admiral?

* * *

 _The sky was ablaze with a brilliant orange, with smoke coming from every building, every tree, and every vehicle. The sound of gunfire and yelling was so loud it would drown out the noise of even your largest breath. There was bodies everywhere, littering the ground as the road stretched forward undaunted._ Kanmusu _and humans alike were littering the ground like a massacre and yet it felt like this is the way they wanted to go. If they would fade into the night it would be with a yell and not a whimper._

 _Houshou struggled to stand, as if she had lost all control of her legs as her body ached in several joints. Her left arm was numb as she held her bow in her right hand, gripping with all her might. With a wheeze and a push she was able to stand as she leaned against the broken street lamp as she saw a single standing figure in the street. She seemed young maybe in her early twenties as she seemed to talked to herself unaffected by the carnage._

 _With a stir the girl turned around and glanced at her, a earpiece in place and the unmistakable uniform of a foreign military commander. The girl looked at her with eyes of intrigue as Houshou slowly knocked an arrow in her bow. The task itself more trouble then it seemed as her left hand couldn't pull the arrow back to its full draw. Yet the girl stared, her eyes of a blue like the clearest ocean and hair as black as the midnight sky. The girl smirked, almost mockingly at her suffering as she spoke. A voice of authority, pain, leadership, and betrayal._

 _"It's over Akagi"_

* * *

With a stir Houshou woke up, a cold sweat dampening her forehead as she quickly glanced around. She looked around erratically at the unfamiliar lodging she was in before she slowly began to remember the events of yesterday.

"That's right... I was rescued..."

She said to herself as to make sure this was all real. She remembered clearly the ordeal of yesterday. How at one point she was eating lunch with her girls, then she was on her way to her own sinking, then she was rescued by three american ships and their admiral. If you would have told her this was all going to happen she would have laughed but at the moment she at the very least was alive and well.

A knock on the hatch snapped her out of her thoughts. The sound itself was that of metal sense her room at the moment was within the belly of the ship. It was by no means luxuries as it was bear essentials with as little open room as possible like that of a military ship. She didn't think ill of it however as most none luxury ships had this design.

She looked around briefly seeing it was a tiny room with 2 beds that were bunks. Slowly she got up, not seeing Murakumo whom she had slept with and baely she realized she had slept in which was very rare of her. But she relented in the excuse she was just that tired as she went and opened the hatch.

No one was immediately there to greet her as she looked, seeing the other occupants of the other rooms getting up and filing out. The time showed it to be 12:30 in the afternoon so she could only guess it was time for their mid day duties. As people filed by she realized no one familiar was around so quickly she flagged down one of the members as they past by their door.

"Ummm excuse me miss, but I need to speak to the admiral. Where can I find him?"

The girl in question looked at her quite confused. Her short black hair and tanned skinned showed signs of being in the heat, and of course the one piece jumpsuit had her guessing it was an engineer of some kind.

"Admiral?" She said with a raised brow. "Ohhhh. Your one of the Kanmusu, I'm sorry. You can find the 'admiral' in the mess hall right about now eating with the rest of the fleet. If he isn't there try his room. Its four floors up and just find his name plate."

"Thank you. I'm sorry for bothering you. Where might the mess hall be?"

"One floor up, cant miss it. Just follow the people"

"Thank you once again"

Houshou said with as much sincerity as she could muster. She had forgotten that Aden did not view himself as an admiral so why would the crew. This was all a very strange situation for her but her biggest question at the moment was what was going to happen next.

* * *

He must admit, never in his life did he believe he would ever get into a situation as hellish as this one. Right now he was surrounded and in unfamiliar territory with nothing but his wits, a girl so protective of him she is a borderline stalker, and a spoon. Never mind the fact that the opposing force wasn't running out of ammo anytime soon. As was the hell that was sitting at a table full of various girls and being the only male.

He could see the other crew members laughing and glancing at him on their spare time. Just waiting to see how all of this unfolded. Well he was alive, so it was so far so good. Now all he had to do was survive this onslaught and wait for his support to arrive.

Currently Aden was sitting at a long table in the cafeteria. His sister was at his right enjoying her meal as well with the Kanmusu all eating with them. He had Indie to his left who was rather too close to be considered anything but friendly and Harder was to the left of her. Hero was checking on the others currently and the Japanese Kanmusu minus Houshou were seated in front of them eating.

"So how did a simple supplier get his own fleet?"

To say Marokumo was subtle in her meanings was like saying water is actually H2O. She was straight to the point on just about everything, including anything that scrutinized him or inclined he was having sexual relationships with his girls.

"Well I had a lot of extra resources since bases aren't using as much and are becoming overstocked lately. I had too much steel, oil, bauxite, and ammo so it was just sitting here until someone needed it. When I heard about the treaty I got some contacts of mine to get me that development material. Then I summoned some Kanmusu and well you have already met them."

"So all three of them are ones you summoned yourself?"

Suzuka had a good head on her shoulder and actually he found it pretty relaxing to have a conversation with her. Unfortunately however she seemed to stare at him a lot, it sorta reminded him of Indie but it seemed more curious. At least right now that was all he guessed it really was.

"Yep. I really didn't know what to expect since it was random to a point. Harder showed up when I was trying to get a destroyer and Indie came when I was gonna go for a battleship. Though I'm glad it turned out this way cause a battleship is a lot more noticeable..."

"And we've been his go-to fleet ever since then"

Indie chirped in as she learned into him. She always tried to get a rise out of him but he knew it was only that. If she really wanted to get in his pants she would have done something in private but so far she keeps joking around in public. Honestly it seemed to sadden him a bit, plus the fact she knows he doesn't have a girlfriend or wife.

"Wow. How long have they been with you?"

Maruyu he actually liked a lot, she was small, sweet and reminded him of his sister. She didn't like to fight, yell, or get into trouble. She is easy for him to get along well with but he doubted he could rely on her when the going got tough. That is if the going got tough, he would rather it not.

"About two weeks"

"EH!?"

 _"Wow Harder... Just wow..."_

He glanced at Harder as she ate her sandwich, unaware of what she did but he supposed it didn't matter. He was going to be more subtle but he was going to tell them anyway.

"Wait, wait, wait! You summoned three Kanmusu without any naval knowledge, initiated a rescue that would end in the entire naval arsenal of japan on your doorstep, and you got away with it!?"

"Basically"

Harder said as she bite into her sandwich again. Murakumo seemed like she was about to have a heart attack, but Lily was too busy laughing at the weird faces she was making and how her head arrays were changing color. They actually looked really cool, but how do they float?

As Lily was laughing at Murakumo he saw a new figure entering the cafeteria and look around. He smiled, knowing he promised Houshou-san some answers so he waved her down. She saw him quickly enough as she walked over and sat in the seat across from him where Hero-san was sitting before she left.

"Hey, you get enough sleep? Murakumo claimed you were a rock this morning"

Murakumo seemed to look away while Houshou just smiled and didn't seem to think anything of it. He liked Houshou-san from what he has seen and heard. The only question now was what was going to happen to everyone now.

"Yes I was, it was strange that I was having a dream and time just slipped by. I suppose I was really exhausted."

"Oh? I hope it was pleasant. We left port about 4 hours ago so I cant go dropping you girls off in the city just yet. I have to refill our supplies with an expedition. Which by the way, where would you girls like to go?"

All the Japanese Kanmusu looked at him with quite an expression of confusion. It seemed the thought had not crossed their mind, maybe because so many other things were on their mind.

"Like I told the girls it was a rescue, not a recruitment. I'm not adding you to my fleet or anything. I've got enough money from this business so I can get you girls Id's and housing. You could live regular lives, maybe even in the navy if fate allows it."

They all seemed to ponder that statement as Indie chipped in, her energy was always so unfounded it scared him most of the time.

"Or you could join us and rescue Kanmusu! I'm sure with some effort we can change things around and make it like before when we all were working together"

A positive attitude as always, which is why he still viewed her as a godsend. Her, Harder, and Hero-san were his fleet and he has to take responsibility for that. If it meant being their admiral then so be it. However recruiting like this seemed like he had an alternative motive, but in reality he had to admit it would help out immensely.

"I'm not too sure about just betraying my admiral. It wasn't his fault all of this started, but I'm not too sure about becoming a civilian either."

I must of been hard on Houshou being in this situation. None of them were in familiar territory and it must of hurt them a lot to know they couldn't go back just yet. However if they stayed with him it might cause even more problems. They were all in a sticky web now and he knew it was his fault. But he had to own up and get them through this, but how?

"I understand completely Houshou-san. Ill respect your decision when you make it. As of now your just a girl aboard a ship, I'm not going to ask anything more of you."

"Thanks... Now about those answers you promised?"

Right, time for the fun of explaining all of that again. He hoped he didn't slip up or else things would get even crazier at this table.

"Well while your doing that I'm gonna go give the 'expedition crew' their lunch"

Indie said with a wink as she got up. She was a good girl but subtlety was not her strong suit. In fact it was her weakness on so many levels.

"Expedition crew?"

Murakumo said as Maruyu leaned in, clearly she was interested as well so he sighed and knew he was going to be here awhile.

"Yes we have an expedition crew. We have a opening in the bottom of the ship as well as a mini-sub to grab salvage. We have divers for shallower areas and plenty of underwater gear."

"Right. You mentioned you would mine the supplies whenever the shipping lanes were not an option"

Maruyu looked off as Indie left the cafeteria while everyone was enraptured in the conversation. She must of not been thinking strait because she completely forgot to get the food. Though she actually really wanted to see what they had. She always did expeditions and people often made fun of her for it but its just what she loved. Glancing back at the table no one was paying attention so she quietly excused herself and and grabbing some of the food bags on the counter before she left after Indie. She just wondered about all the kinds of equipment they must have.

* * *

As she left the mess hall and began to walk down the stairs she saw Hero-san walking up looking at her curiously. She waved hello as she continued her trek down the stairs quickly, she figured from Adens explanation it would be on the lowest level but hopefully she wouldn't get lost or be missed.

"Hey!"

Turning around at Hero-sans words she glanced at her wondering what was wrong.

"Who is that food for? I don't think submarines eat much?"

"Its for the crew. Indie forgot it"

She said in a stir as she continued to walk. Hero-san stood at the top of the stairs thinking about it before just waving it off and continuing to the cafeteria. She had to give the admiral an update on their status.

Maruyu continued her trek into the bowels of the ship before she could no longer go down. She began to hear the swishing of the water against the hull as she made her way forward with the two food bags. She lost sight of Indie but hopefully seeing her would be a pleasant surprise. She wanted very much to be good friends with the crew.

Going through a short hallway she arrived at what she assumed to be the room. Stacks of equipment were everywhere and when she heard the swishing of water nearby she knew she was in the right place. She could see many canisters and goggles, with scuba gear nearby at the ready. The area had some very much accommodating tables and chairs with a computer in the room as well.

As she passed a set of crates she saw something wondrous. It was a yellow mini-sub laying next to the water opening. There was a crane nearby ready to lift it into the water and across the room she saw a door that was open.

She heard Indie's voice coming from it so that must be where the crew was but the sight of the submarine was really tempting. Putting down the two bags of food she gently rubbed it, she had never seen a modern mini-sub before in person. They had of course military mini-subs during the war but this thing was entirely different. Its job was only to explore the sea floor, not for warfare.

Looking in the water she could see it was nowhere near flooding into the room. This ship seemed to be built specifically for this in mind as well as transport. There was a ladder leading out of it but the lights were off and all she could see was black water. The shadow of the ship was ruining the image of the ocean floor.

Glancing up she heard Indie talking to someone, obviously another female crew member and then she remembered they are not at port. She smiled as she started to grab one of the goggles and put them on. A swim would sooth her nerves, plus she didn't need the air tank so she wouldn't be wasting resources. Her old rigging of shoes, ball, and goggles were taken from her. The feeling of something on her head reminded her of it at the very least.

She hoped the crew would see the food she got for them as she put the goggles over her eyes and stepped back before leaping into the water with a splash. The splash however was little as she was only in the water for about a foot. She was standing on something and she didn't know what.

"Was there a bay door I didn't see?"

Suddenly she dropped to her knees as she was raised out of the water. A giant black form that filled the entire diving area and was equal in size to the mini-sub. The black slimy skin of it and the teal colored eyes left her with little imagination as to what it was.

Shuddering she tried to remain calm as the abyssal destroyer came to float in the water and growled. Its giant mouth big enough to easily eat her. The growl echoed throughout the room and that was all that was needed to break her composure and she let out a yell that would always be heard.

* * *

As they talked Hero showed up and sat down quietly. Houshou-san was quite understanding of his predicament as she explained how several times in his story were so silimar to her admirals first start. He was basically a green admiral to her which he couldn't argue against. A cough from Hero-san in the middle of their conversation though rude to most, was actually seen as serious when it came to her. She was rough, that was for sure but it was really only out of good reason.

"Is something wrong Hero-san?"

She looked at him, her blue eyes beautifully accenting her features as a women, while her demeanor showed that of a veteran soldier. She was someone he would fall in love with at first sight, if only the circumstances were different.

"Somewhat. Damage was moderate. I ask that you avoid anymore encounters with kanmusu fleets. It'll take over a week to repair on its own."

"Damage? Wait you fought a Kanmusu fleet?"

Houshou said in surprised while the other kanmusu leaned in. Though as they did so they noticed the lack of a member.

"Yes, a small fleet of destroyers was in the area of the crash and we had to force them to retreat. Don't worry we didn't even try to sink them. But like I said avoid further engagements. That is unless we have reinforcements."

Glancing at the group Aden immediately knew what she was getting at.

"Out of the question Hero-san. I'm not asking them to fight their own nation."

"Sorry..."

She said in a hushed voice. It seemed the admirals words were law to her, but even so Houshou knew the reasoning. To go into a fight damaged was asking to be sunk. But if they didn't go then they guarantee a kanmusu would sink. Ether its highly likely his own girls would sink, or he guarantee's someone else's does, it did not paint the prettiest picture.

"Where is Maruyu?"

Lily asked as she glanced around not seeing the little submarine with them. Everyone else looked as well but Hero-san didn't seem to care.

"She was going after Indie. She forgot food apparently."

"Indie was going to see the expedition team.."

He said in a rough voice as Hero glanced up at him.

"Expedition team? Wait..."

He got up without another word as Hero did as well and began to move as quickly as possible without running.

"Huh? Is something wrong?"

Lily asked as everyone else began to get up as well, obviously interested in just what all the fuss was about.

"Harder stay with Houshou and the others. We are gonna go get Maruyu"

He said as he and Hero left the cafeteria. Houshou left as well and saw them walking down the stairs. She knew something was up and they didn't want them to know. It was a gut feeling but she know something bad was going to happen.

"What exactly is this expedition team?"

Houshou said from over the railing as the others gathered behind her. She never got a reply though as a scream that was clearly Maruyu's echoed from the bellows of the ship.

"Shit!"

Both Hero and Aden said in unison as he began to run down the stair and Hero taking the quicker route jumped the railing to the bottom floor. The fall was a good 40 feet and she landed with a thud as her boots met the metal and ran forward. Being a kanmusu meant she was tougher, and hopefully that would mean quicker as well.

* * *

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

She screamed as she sat atop the abyssal killer of submarines. She dared not move else it would get a clear shot off on her, or worse and eat her. She heard running as she looked back seeing Indie looking at her terrified.

"Indie help!"

She immediately ran to her offering comforting words as she sweated.

"Its gonna be okay. Just stay calm and don't do anything drastic"

God she had no idea what she was going to do. This was turning into her second worst nightmare.

"Maruyu!"

She heard Hero scream as she ran in from the opposite direction. Upon seeing what was happening she let out a curse and ran. Maruyu couldn't register what happened next as Hero jumped aboard the destroyer and tackled her off of it as quickly as possible. It wasn't the softest landing but Maruyu was crying with joy at being off of the monster.

"What is with the screaming?"

Looking up at the voice Maruyu inhaled deeply, trying to resist popping her lungs from screaming a second time as a Re-class battleship walked up behind Indie. The girl did not look as monstrous as most abyssals but she knew this girl had enough firepower to flatten all of them without even trying. Her red eyes and white hair may make her seem beautiful if you would compare her to most abyssals but the appendage coming from her back that formed a type of tail with cannons on it was not a pleasant sight. A runway of sorts ran along her tail as well as a black hood and dress that revealed her chest except for her breasts which were covered in a bra. She was an aviation battleship and a very strange one for not killing her instantly.

The abyssal looked at the scene in front of her and laughed. She quite literally seemed to be busting a gut as Indie sighed.

"Geez we would have told you given enough time..."

"Maruyu!"

Aden yelled as he ran in. He came as fast as he could but it just wasn't practical of him to jump 40 feet like Hero had. Upon entering the room he was treated to the sight of Maruyu crying her eyes out as Hero lifted her up in her arms.

"I can't believe you would cry that badly over a simple Ro-class destroyer. Geez admiral you sure know how to pick em."

"Not a word Tal, not a word"

Quickly pacing the room to Hero he checked to make sure she was alright. He didn't see damage of any sort which was a relief. Then again he didn't hear gunfire so that was a plus.

"Sorry, sorry!" The abyssal known as Tal said as she waved her hands."I just didn't expect them to come down here so quickly. I thought you wanted to wait awhile?"

"I did" He said affirmatively as he was sure she was unharmed. Now came the hard part of breaking all this to the others. Though turning around he could see all of them staring at the scene in quiet amazement. Mouths open and everything as he sighed, wishing it was all just a dream."Though it seems that will come sooner rather than later."

In the bunch of kanmusu who were staring at him in disbelief he saw Harder just looking at the seen impassively as always.

"I thought I told you to stay with Houshou-san and the others?"

"I did"

Right, she took the order quite literally. He needed to work on these covert ops more at home before trying to do something against the military next time.

"Aden, this is... uh..."

Houshou said as she glanced at the abyssal destroyer and battleship. It was a mix, match that she didn't want to see but here it was for all to love and hate.

"Look, I can explain"

"This'll be interesting"

Another voice chimed in from behind the battleship. Everyone regarded her presence as it was a strangely remolded abyssal aircraft carrier. However its face was different, with whiter skin and white clothing with black stripes, the classic headpiece of an abyssal carrier was still there but was significantly smaller like it was simply a hat and it lacked the appendages most had. A staff in her left hand and a black mantle that covered her back with yellow eyes. She was a lot shorter than previous ones they had ever seen, maybe it was the head gear?

To say that he would get out of this situation peacefully wasn't his main concern at the moment. Getting out alive was actually quickly becoming his top priority. Though Harder didn't seem to think so as she walked up to the abyssal destroyer which was a giant to her.

"You made Haruyu cry" She said as she smacked the destroyer on the nose. A hit from a Kanmusu was by no means a small hit but the destroyer seemed to growl after getting hit. "No back talk" It growled lowly again before sinking back into the water somewhat hiding from her. The Japanese looked at the scene quite curiously as a submarine just made a abyssal destroyer its pet.

Everyone was quiet after seeing such a display, though the battleship still had the biggest smirk on her face. The abyssal carrier decided to step forward after the display.

"Perhaps we should start with introductions. I am Dell, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I am an abyssal De-class light aircraft carrier, formerly a flagship. I hope we can all get along in these times."

The mysterious abyssal said as she bowed, though the Japanese Kanmusu seemed a bit taken aback from such a greeting. They hadn't expected one to be friendly to them, never mind formal.

"I'm Tal, elite Re-class abyssal battleship. Pleasure is all mine!"

The battleship said with a smile and salute. The surprise was still there but not as much as before as they seemed to be calming down, even Maruyu was looking at them with a different set of eyes this time.

"And that destroyer is... well really its just a destroyer. It can't talk."

The battleship said matter of factually as the destroyer let out an echoing moan. Clearly it knew when it was being addressed at the very least. But the situation was still a bit strange to them. However the american ships seemed to view the abyssals indifferently.

"Um I am Houshou, Japanese light aircraft carrier and namesake of my class."

She bowed slightly, showing respect while the abyssals seemed to nod at it, looking for the next person to introduce themselves. No one seemed to be wanting to speak however until Harder walked up to where Hero and Maruyu were.

"This is Maruyu. She's a submarine but doesn't like to fight. So please take good care of her."

"I see. Well its nice to meet you Maruyu!"

The battleship said with a smile. Maruyu was still a bit uncertain about her but she didn't see any reason to not see the sincerity in her words. Her excited speech pattern made her think however either the girl had a voice problem, or perhaps a hearing problem.

"Well I guess I shouldn't be left out. I'm Suzuya, Japanese Mogami-class Heavy Cruiser."

She said with a smile and peace sign, doing her best to smile and emit a positive aura as well as anyone realistically could do in this situation.

"And this is Murakumo. Shes hardheaded so I hope we can all get along"

Suzuya said as Murakumo glared at her, not enjoying her introduction being taken from her.

"Hey you didn't even say anything nice about me!"

Suzuya just waved her off as they finished their introductions. Its was still pretty rocky but at least they were attempting to break the ice.

"So yah... I bet your wondering how this entire thing started?"

A nod from Houshou summed up the answer as the group looked at the abyssals who seemed to act, well not quite like monsters.

"Well we met about a month ago. Before Indie, Harder, and Hero showed up. They were trying to take some of the resources we had stockpiled. They could have easily blown up the ship, but instead of attracting that sort of attention that would end in their search and destruction we made a deal."

"If we help with expeditions and supplies and in no way try to bring death to humans or kanmusu we could live here and hide."

Dell finished up as the group looked at the two. It seemed like it was a deal out of survival more than anything else. The abyssals were just trying to live while the rest of the world was just killing them off.

"However things changed two weeks ago when the treaty was made. I wanted to help you girls but three ships were not going to cut it. So they gave me the knowledge and resources to make Kanmusu."

"Wait!? ABYSSALS gave you the means and knowledge to make KANMUSU!?"

Murakumo said in disbelief. That entire sentence just screamed wrong to here and everyone else caught it as well.

"Your entire creation is intertwined with ours. Perhaps you have forgotten, but we are the exact same save for one thing. Purpose"

Dell said as the others took in those words very carefully.

"Purpose?"

Houshou didn't like were this was going but she was willing to hear them out since it was pointless to not ask now.

"Consider this, a Kanmusu has a nationality. Japanese, American, German, English you all have a nation while we do not. You all have an admiral that gives orders and that you rely upon for support, most abyssals do not"

"Most?"

That didn't sound good to her.

"Yes most. I say that because Aden is our admiral. Which is why we are happy being docile and not picking fights."

"Your happy?"

The two nodded a yes, the battleship doing so much more vigorously though. Even the destroyer growled in approval as Aden rubbed the back of his head. Clearly he was not believing in himself very much.

"But still, what do you mean our creation is intertwined with yours?"

"Because you showed us war. You showed us warships, planes, strategies. You may not have realized we were there but think of us as ocean spirits. When you sunk your souls joined ours and through the method that births us, so too could you become flesh."

Houshou was having a hard time believing this, it all seemed too tied up. But she didn't have any reason not to believe them. Nor would believing them hurt anything, except maybe her reasoning for this entire war.

"We caused you..."

"Yes. Your war was so powerful, with so much emotion and spiritual energy behind it that it became part of us. Though now most of us have died off along with that feeling of battle. We fight because that is what your souls cried out for. Well the souls of the humans at least."

"And the ships?"

"That is for you to figure out. I am not a kanmusu nor will I pretend to know you."

They stopped to think on those words, just what it all meant. If its true then this entire thing was there fault. However it didn't seem like they were blaming them for anything.

"We gave what little shards we had left to the admiral so he could summon help. You call it development material, but to us it is a crystallization of life at sea. It can only be found in extremely deep water. But even then its around the world."

"But why didn't he summon other abyssals then?"

"When summoning you must add the components such as steel, oil and the like into the spirits natural habitat, in this case it is the ocean. Then when the water begins to shine it acts like a portal to the spiritual world, but its only that, a portal. You must speak through it to lure a spirit from the other side. Most nations will simply play their national song and that will lead ships of their nation through. If you want an abyssal, well, spout a lot of stuff of war and destruction. The admiral spoke about saving lives, freedom, and doing the right thing. Very childish, however it attracted american kanmusu. Language does not matter to spirits, simply resolution. The words must be honest else it will fail."

That explanation sounded true but were they? Certainly she never asked about such details of their summoning nor could she remember her own. But could all of this really have been explained to her right here and no one ever have known?

"Why isn't this common knowledge then?"

Dell seemed to look at her for a second before closing her eyes to think.

"I do not know. I am not old, what my predecessors and your admirals have done is beyond me. We have only known war, but war has survival as a goal does it not? Had we not been put in such a compromising position it is most likely we would have sunken this ship and no one would have this knowledge."

"And at this point I don't think it actually is relevant to anyone."

Though harsh Aden did have a point. The war was practically over and done with. A new era was coming but it was still scary about how little they actually knew about the abyssals.

"Indeed. Bringing this information forward would only lead to our death indifferently of any other. It's useless information now, but I believed you would appreciate knowing."

"I do and thank you" Houshou said as she thought about what all she's been told. Her days were getting stranger and stranger. Sooner or later either she will be a crazy old carrier spouting nonsense or become Junyou's newest drinking buddy.

"Why don't you girls go relax. Like I said once we hit land you can leave if all of this is too much."

Aden was sincere and it seemed he was thinking what was best for them. She remembered the days when the Japanese and American ships fought with each other. The nations were so scared they would start another war they were alone for the longest time. But as time passed things changed so what was different here?

"There's not much for us to go to. Like they just said we have purpose, I'm just trying to think of a way to fulfill that is all..."

Suzuya said looking off to the side. They really had no where else to turn in these times. They were alone without an admiral and in an unfamiliar situation.

"You can always join us on expeditions. Its normally just me and Harder since that destroyer doesn't exactly have hands."

"Uh no thank you. I prefer sorties over rock collecting."

Suzuya said a bit perturbed at the offer.

"That reminds me, how are you doing Tal? I heard you got hit during the rescue operation"

He started to walk over to her to inspect the damage but she put her hand up and moved her tail preventing him from getting by.

"Uh I'm fine sir, just got nicked by a destroyer after all. I'm a battleship so I will be fine, I cant even feel it anymore."

He looked at her curiously, noticing the hint of red on her cheeks and of course her cheesy smile that was a tell she was attempting to lie.

"Really cause Hero-san said you were moderately damaged and would take over a week to heal?"

"I'm fine sir I promise! No need to do a checkup, nope nope!"

His face didn't seem the most convinced, and though he was in the middle of a situation with everyone he also didn't want to forget that she was hurt.

"Tel, as your admiral I want to know just how badly you are hurt. I don't want you putting up a front."

She seemed to be swallowing her words with her cheeks glowing as red as her eyes as Dell spoke to break the silence.

"Admiral she got shot in the ass"

"Dell you Mother F$^&$! why'd you tell him!?"

"Ouch my poor virgin submarine ears"

Harder said mockingly as she covered her ears and started to help Maruyu stand.

"Oh..." That was not what he was expecting to hear but based upon Dell smiling in victory and Tel crying he would say Maruyu wont be the only one that will need consoling. And now that he looked at her tail that was blocking him he could see some of the runway was chunked off. It must be very uncomfortable to move that thing now. "Uh... I hope it feels better soon?"

"You asked admiral" Dell said with a triumphant smile. Indie of course was withholding her own laugh while Hero was dusting herself off trying not to think about it.

"Just get ready for the expedition. We will be at the site within the hour, and girls" He said as he faced towards the group of Kanmusu who stood before him. "I'm sorry for all the trouble, go ahead and relax for now. We will be making port late next evening"

* * *

Houshou was actually quite surprised with the entire situation. She never expected to be sentenced to sink, then rescued by a rag tag group of american kanmusu, and now having tea with an abyssal. Well It was pleasant none the less but she hoped somehow she was dreaming or in a coma.

"I apologize if my tea isn't up to par. I have only begun to understand the human world"

The green tea in front of her honestly looked well done, and a quick sip confirmed that its taste matched its look. She never expected to be having tea with an abyssal aircraft carrier in a cafeteria with humans who really didn't seem to be threatened by her.

"No it's good, thank you. I didn't even realize that you would even like this kind of stuff"

"We used to eat fish all the time. And would drink rainwater to handle thirst. It was just a survival instinct so we thought nothing of it. However human food has shown us new things. Tal actually really loves human sweets, if you give her a cookie I'm sure she would consider you her best friend."

This was weird beyond belief, to think that it was the abyssals they were fighting this entire time turned out to be her rescuer. Had they not found their way to Aden she would have sunk and never knew not all abyssals were that bad, given purpose that is.

"So have you always had the name Dell?"

"No, but its actually quite an interesting story. Most abyssals do not have a name except for very strong ones like princess's. We don't have names because that would give you something to remember when we died, which happened quite often. It was a way of dealing with the moral of our girls. The admiral actually gave us our names."

That actually saddened her, did they know it was that bad? That they were going to die yet they kept fighting even knowing it was futile.

"So when I began to study aboard this ship I came across a marvelous finding. The internet seems to be a network of all human society on a digital plane for all to see. I became enraptured by it until the admiral gave me the nickname Dell, as apparently it was the device I was using to access the internet. Even if it started out as a nickname it made me happy so it has become my name ever since."

"And Tal?"

"She became jealous that the admiral gave me a name to the point she began to try and seduce him to get on his good side. Obviously as a battleship she plays rough however so he gave her the name Tal. Though inside I believe it was for his own well being as Tal has very low self control."

That sounded like a smart call, she couldn't imagine Tal actually taking the time to be sweet or wait. He was probably on the verge of getting kidnapped until he gave her a name. It was actually pretty funny, in a sense she guessed they actually were his ship daughters.

"So before you said that you were a flagship. How did that change?"

"I was originally the flagship and leader for our abyssal fleet. But after losing half of our members I relented to hiding and then the admiral showed up. I acted as flagship for him, however I don't believe he quite realized what that entitled." She sighed as if she recalled a sad memory as she continued. "Then the american Kanmusu showed up, thanks to my idea and my title of flagship was taken."

"Taken? What do you mean?"

"Hero-san has taken to being around the admiral as much as possible and has become his main confident when dealing with matters he personally cannot attend. She has become his secretary and she knows it, but I do not believe he knows it quite yet."

Well she supposed that explained it, she even figured Hero-san was the secretary with how much she is around him. Though why Hero-san had such a fascination with him so quickly was a bit strange.

"I know it may seem rude, and you don't have to tell me but did Hero-san ever say her true name whenever she first arrived?"

Dell glanced at her as she took a sip from her tea, obviously taking her time as to best word the answer for such a loaded question.

"She did."

It was a quick straight answer that gave away no information. She supposed that Hero-san personally requested no one tell.

"I know it may seem wrong of me. But id like to know, I know she is an american Kanmusu because of her planes, but id like to know which one."

"You haven't realized?"

The quirked eyebrow as she sipped her tea and her fingers tapping against the table proved unsettling. Was it meant to be obvious or was she just joking. No, Dell didn't seem like the type to joke around a serious matter like this.

"My first thought was Enterprise but she is a secretary ship in Hawaii. I just would like to know which one Hero-san is. Kitty Hawk, Hornet, Langley?"

"Enterprise is in Hawaii?"

She asked in quiet surprise. Well she did meet her personally on a trip several years ago and by enterprises record and what she saw she was strong and capable. She was most likely still alive and kicking as she hasn't heard anything about her sinking.

"Yes, I met her personally. She has brown hair, an admirals jacket hangs from her soldiers with a black shirt with several emblems and medals on it. She is smart, funny, and I believe strong like her ship was during the war."

"Hmmmmm" Dell said as she soaked the information in, to say she looked interested would be an understatement for how focused her yellow eyes were. "It would be best if you kept that information to yourself."

Wait, why? Had she said something wrong to her? Sure she gave away military information but that was over three years ago. And if anyone with military records actually tried they could easily find her since she was so iconic.

"Is there something I'm not aware of?"

"More than you can possibly imagine."

* * *

 _It was dark, cold, and quiet. Just like how it normally is in the wide open sea. She floated their unmoving as she rested, even after all these decades she was still tired. She had fought her war, she had seen it to the end, she had achieved victory. She had achieved a victory for her nation and her admiral. Yet she was denied her own self victory. And so she floated there unmoving in the darkness. She was so very tired and it was so very cold._

 _Her thoughts were torn from her as a light began to take shape in the darkness, calling out to any soul that would listen. But she would not go for she was tired. They had tried dozens of times, with cheers, with names, with promises of victory. But she wanted none of that, she only wanted to sleep for she was so very tired. She was the Hero they needed maybe but she didn't want to become that again. She had failed in her self appointed duty and she did not want to repeat it._

 _They called her with drums, they called her with banners, with patriotism, with promises of live anew. But It would make her so very tired, why would no one understand. She was tired of being the Hero, she was tired of being relied upon as the trump card, she was tired of promises that she couldn't keep. She had gave everything for her nation and yet it meant nothing to her. For everything she wanted was taken from her and her way had become lost._

 _And yet the lights continued one after another, with voices, with promises, with victory. But they didn't need her, so she would sleep. And yet these lights were so persistent in seeking her out. They called out a name she held alone, called for deeds she had done, to ask and ask and ask. But she was so very tired._

 _Today was no different as a light appeared in front of her on the wide open darkness. It would interrupt her sleep to promise a life she didn't want. And yet the words were different, they were not of a brave man but of a desperate man._

 _"I don't know if you can hear me. I don't know if you will even listen to me"_

 _Strange, what fool would call out to dead ghosts to hear their plea? She would not haunt him but it was entirely different from the other times._

 _"I need someone to help me. To help them, please I need someone strong enough to do this despite the odds"_

 _Despite the odds? But they held victory, she had heard the confidence in their voice time and time again. Why would they need her now? What has changed to upset the status quo. She felt the light glow bright and she knew another soul would reach out and claim it soon. And yet she didn't want that to happen, she wanted to listen to him. To hear his desperation, to hear his true colors._

 _"I don't need just a ship I need a Hero. I need..."_

 _A hero? What a strange request, but she supposed as much as she hated to admit it they had called her that. Was this man unintentionally calling out to her? She wanted to hear his voice more and the light grew brighter. She dared say she could touch it with her fingertips. But should she... what are his words?..._

 _"Please just... Just someone save them!"_

 _And there it was, the purpose she had wanted to achieve. And as she touched that bright light she felt herself grow wet and weary as she floated above the ocean she slept in and came to breath new life into the daughter of the world she fought for._

* * *

She woke up from her nap, half amazed at what she was dreaming and half amazed she fell asleep anyway. She was afraid she would start having nightmares about losing her friends again, but why she remembered her own summoning was a bother to her. Remembering stuff like that would just drag her down if she failed her duty.

Looking around the room she could tell the admiral had left for the supply drop. She had taken to being as close as possible to him at all times, she had taken to sleeping on the couch in his room. He had tried for an entire week to convince her to sleep elsewhere but she wouldn't have it. She knew she was being a bit too protective but she was worried. She had lost so many sisters during the war. She didn't want to even consider the thought of losing her admiral.

The door opening broke her from her thoughts as she got up, putting on her beret quickly to try and look presentable. Though she supposed that was easier said then done, she was always in uniform. But the act of wearing pajamas in a man's room was not pleasing to her quite yet.

A quick look at the admiral had her worried though, he was plotting something which could only mean one thing.

"Did something happen admiral?"

"Maybe." He replied though it seemed the statement was more pointed at himself. "Get the girls ready within two days. Our contact may be getting close to being found out. We are going to break her out of the Yokosuka Naval Base"

* * *

 **AN:**

 **So yah I found various grammar mistakes in the first chapter and I fixed as much as I caught. Apparently I was wrong in saying Kansume, as its actually Kanmusu. I must of heard it wrong or something but either way its fixed now. I'll work on this story little by little but like I said if no one seems interested then I personally wont be interested. If the grammar is so bad that you litterally spent the entire story trying to find them all then please pm it to me so I can fix it for future readers.**

 **Also I know De-class light aircraft carrier does not actually exist in the game. I personally made it cause i like the aircraft carrier look to a point but I could not imagine that huge head so I shrunk it severely(Think of it like the size of Toad hat from mario), but in return she is only a light aircraft carrier so she is less powerful. The others are true classes though. Also I'm sorry if the (He said, she said) thing gets annoying but its the only way I know how to cope with 4+ people talking. and in most of these scenes you had 7+ people so yah.**

 **Also I decided to just forgo any explicit content since it really wouldn't amount to much so the rating is gonna change back to teen. Its not like this is gonna get gruesome like game of thrones or anything. There is death, but not body parts everywhere or anything.**

 **Anyway I hope you enjoy**


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